{"product_id":"the-almond-picker-a-novel-9780374182342","title":"The Almond Picker: A Novel","description":"\u003cp\u003eA surprising mystery--and love story--set in rural Sicily  Like many memorable works of fiction  The Almond Picker hinges on a question  in this case: who is Maria Rosalia Inzerillo  known as Mennulara  the almond picker? Born into a desperately poor Sicilian farming family  Mennulara went into service when she was only a girl  as a maid for a well-to-do local family; by dint of hard work and intelligence  she became the indispensable administrator of the familys affairs and was said to be rich. Still  she was a mere servant  and now (as the story begins) she is dead.  Who was she  really? Simonetta Agnello Hornbys wonderfully entertaining novel about this mysterious woman -- a bestseller in Italy when it was published in 2002 -- has all the suspense of a witty thriller  the emotions of a powerful love story  and the evocative atmosphere of a historical novel. Set in Sicily in the 1960s  a violent  complicated society in the midst of tumultuous change  where young and old  rich and poor  men and women are set against each other  The Almond Picker is the story of a woman who negotiated for her freedom as no one else dared.  Unusual instructions in Mennularas will perplex the family she worked for and send the children on a kind of treasure hunt  for each of them wants to secure her fabled riches. She is no longer physically present  but her mysterious importance to them and to the village comes into focus in a series of dramatic encounters and spiky exchanges among the neighbors. Everyone has a very different idea about Mennularas amazing life. Was she a humble servant who ruled her master  or perhaps a pawn for the Mafia? Was she a seducer and opportunist  a sly blackmailer waiting for a payoff  or the opposite? During the thirty days following her death  the surprising truth is revealed.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45529519685685,"sku":"ByrdShop_0374182345","price":65.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780374182342.jpg?v=1780936310","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-almond-picker-a-novel-9780374182342","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}